@WaihekeSoundie –
The ‘time’ based view is not to any scale and is just intended to show the (time relative) order of processing channels.
It also helps to explain why you cannot send, say, the LR mix to an Aux, or a Matrix to an input, without breaking the ‘correct’ order i.e. the order for coherency.
On the subject of latency, most everything adds to it, so you do need to carefully match path lengths to avoid the comb filtering you mention.
Some further points to the articles:
With Tie Lines, there will be no latency added by processing, because no processing is taking place, but there will still be latency due to any ADC, DAC, transport and routing.
Two tie lines from the same input socket type going to the same output socket type will be aligned.
Using direct outputs, you will see slightly different latency depending on the pick off point you’ve chosen.
This is one of the benefits of the XCVI core and coherent mixing in the SQ though – within the console, it doesn’t matter if you have a PEQ switched in or out on an input channel, the latency will remain the same. By extension, you can double patch an input socket to two input channels and process them differently in parallel, then send to the same mix without having to worry about phase issues due to latency. (you also get the parallel path on every compressor 🙂 )
Anyway, Scott is right with the advice on matching paths/latency if needed, but you also shouldn’t need to worry much about the difference in latency between a vocal mic and a cajon.
It’s only where the same source is processed in parallel with an unprocessed version that problems will occur. In the same way as double micing a source with mics at different distances will result in +- phasey fun.
As an aside just to clarify – reverb and delays are time based FX and as @scott says, you don’t really need to be concerned about latency compensation here, but they’re often referred to as ‘send/return’ or ‘mix return’ FX because you’re sending a mix of signals to them and getting a return – ‘side chained’, ‘side chaining’ or ‘keying’ is a different thing, where signal processing on one channel is affected by another. e.g. using a kick drum channel to trigger the gate on a bass guitar channel, or using a vocal channel to trigger the compressor on a synth.
Cheers,
Keith.
